Indicia converter



Jan. 10, 1967 G. A. HILL INDICIA CONVERTER Filed Nov 30, 1964 INVHNTOR GEORGE A. HILL a I I l d fit ATToRnaYs,

United States Patent f 3,296,726 INDICIA CONVERTER George A. Hill, 3393 Fairmont Road, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Filed Nov. 30, 1964, Ser. No. 414,632 4 Claims. (Cl. 40-48) This invention relates to indicia converters commonly used to alternately expose to view correlated indica.

It is appreciated that many and varied types of indicia converters, in which correlated indicia might be alternately exposed and covered, have heretofore been devised. However, they are usually relatively complicated and therefore costly to produce, an element which usually precludes the use in favour of the simple columnar type converter in which correlated indica is arranged in rows upon a piece of cardboard or the like. This latter type of converter is, of course, relatively inexpensive to produce, but suffers from one disadvantage, in that all the indicia is at all times exposed to view and therefore, in order that no mistakes be engendered in its use, some degree of care must be taken in indicia transposition.

The present invention provides a converter of the former type which is inexpensive to produce, easy to operate, and by reason of the indica to be transposed, being completely covered when its correlated indica is viewed, eliminates the chance of error which is always present in the columnar type converter.

The present invention also provides an extremely compact converter which may easily be carried in a coat, or the like.

The present invention comprises a pair of elongated flaps, each having an indicia carrying viewing surface at an end, means spacedly and resiliently mounting the flaps at their other ends so that they normally extend towards each other with the free end of one overlapping the viewing surface of the other, said flaps being swingable in a direction away from their viewing surfaces to permit the overlapped flaps to clear the free end of the overlapping flaps and automatically return to its normal position ahead of the latter to cover the latters viewing surface.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention,

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a converter,

FIGURES 2, 3, and 4 represent a sectional view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 22 thereof, showing the manner in which a pair of overlapping flaps are moved from one position of overlap to another,

FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the converter, and

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings which illustrate the embodiments of the invention, one embodiment thereof as illustrated in FIGURE 1 and accorded the numeral 14), comprises a pair of thin flat panels 11 and 12, formed of a resilient material, such as sheet Celluloid or the like. Sheet 11 has rows of tongues or flaps 14 internally formed therein, the tongues in each row being uniformly spaced and each row thereof also being uniformly spaced apart. Each tongue is formed by making a U-shaped cut in the panel, the sides 16 of the U-shaped cut being elongated to provide an elongated tongue, and an end portion of each tongue is removed by cutting transversely thereacross to provide rectangularly shaped openings 17 founded on one side by the free edge 18 of the tongue and on the side opposite by the edge 19 of the panel formed by the base of the U-shaped cut. The tongue may be shaped along its opposite side edges 20 at the terminal of the side cut 16 opposite the panel edge 19 into circular openings 21 so that each of the tongues may be swung freely out of 3,296,726 Patented Jan. 10, 1967 the plane of its associated panel. It will be observed, however, that each of the tongues being formed of the same resilient material as panel 11 normally lie co-planar thereto and when moved from the co-planar position, will automatically return to said position when released.

Panel 12 has similar tongues 22 and rectangular openings 23 formed therein, the free ends of said tongues 22 being accorded the numeral 24, the side of its opening 23 opposite said free ends of the tongues being accorded the number 25.

The tongues 22 of panel 12 are all uniformly spaced in a manner identical with the tongues 14 of panel 11.

The panels 11 and 12 are arranged side by side and positioned so that an end portion of a tongue of one of them overlaps a similar end portion of the tongue of another with their side edges coinciding. In this position, as all the tongues in both panels 11 and 12 are all of identical size and shape, they are consequently movable in both directions from their normal posit-ion.

The operation of the converter may be best indicated with reference to FIGURES 2, 3 and 4. InFIGURE 2, the tongues 17 and 22 of the panels 11 and 12 both extend adjacent to each other and co-planar to their associated panels. When viewed in a direction so that the planar face of panel 11 confronts the eye, an end portion 27 of tongue 14 overlaps a similar end portion 28 of tongue 22. The sharpened end of a pencil or any slender, stiff instrument herein numbered 30, may be pressed against tongue 14, causing it to flex inwardly and at the same time flex tongue 22 inwardly. This movement is continued until the free edge of tongue 14 is swung clear of the free edge of tongue '22. The latter, being resilient, will then automatically return to a normal position co-planar with its panel 12 ahead of tongue 14. When the latter tongue is released, both tongues will then assume a position, as shown in FIGURE 4, in which said end portion 28 of tongue 22 now overlaps the corresponding end portion 27 of tongue 14, thereby covering the previously-exposed end portion of the latter. In order to bring the latter again to view it is simply necessary to reverse the procedure by pressing on tongue 22 until it clears tongue 14, allowing said tongue 14 to return to its normal position.

It will be seen that the planar surfaces hereinafter called the viewing surfaces, on each side of said end portions 27 and 28 of both of the tongues, may be alternately exposed and covered at will. These viewing surfaces may be arranged so that one carries a fraction while the other carries its decimal equivalent. The use of the converter is of course not limited to the conversion of fractions and decimals, but may be employed for the conversion of learning correlated indicia, such as may be found in project charts, stock records, consumer and sales records, product control expediting charts, memorandum charts, teaching aids and cross reference guides. It may be noted too that the operation of the converter when viewed from a position in which panel 12 confronts the observer, is exactly the same as when viewed from a direction in which panel 11 confronts the observer. The converter is therefore reversible, the end portions 27 and 28 of the tongues 14 and 22, respectively, carrying correlated indica on both planar surfaces.

FIGURE 5 illustrates another embodiment 40 of the apparatus in which a plurality of panels 41 and 42 each having a single tongue 43 formed therein and superimposed over one another in a manner hereinbefore described, are carried in a frame 44, said frame having slots or guideways 46 adapted to slidably receive the panels 41 and 42. The frame members are open at one end 47 to permit the changing of panels whenever desired to permit arrangement and re-arrangement of individual panels.

FIGURE 6 illustrates another embodiment 50 of the apparatus. Apparatus 50, employs only one panel 51 in which are formed a series of elongated rectangular apertures 53, at opposite ends 54 and 55 of which apertures, extend tab portions 56 and 57, the latter being looped around the central portion 58 and 59 respectively of short transversely extending rods 61 and 62. Elongated flaps 64 and 65 having looped portions 66 at. one end are pivotally secured as at 67 to each of the rods and are so located that each is free to swing through its associated apertures 53.

Springs 69 each having a looped rod embracing middle length 70 and laterally extending end portions 72 are arranged over the rods 61 and 62, said end portions of each spring being secured as by staples 73, one to its associated flap and the other to the panel, the action of the spring 69 being such that their end portions 72 normally extend in opposite directions so that the flaps, in their normal position, extend over the aperture, and nudge each other in manner of tongues 14 and 22 of apparatus 10. The operation of apparatus 50 is, of course, identical to the operation of apparatus 10.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An indicia converting device comprising a pair of elongated flaps, each having an indicia carrying viewing surface at an end, means spacedly and resiliently mounting the flaps at their other ends so that they normally extend towards each other with the free end of one overlapping the viewing surface of the other, said flaps being swingable in a direction away from their viewing surface to permit the overlapped flaps to clear the free end of the overlapping flaps and automatically return to its normal position ahead of the latter to cover the latters viewing surface.

2. An indicia converting device comprising a pair of elongated resiliently bendable flaps, each having an indicia carrying viewing surface at one end, means rigidly and spacedly securing the flaps at their other ends so that they normally extend towards each other with the free end of one overlapping the viewing surface of the other, said flaps being bendable in a direction away from their viewing surface to permit the overlapped flaps to clear the free end of the overlapping flaps and automatically return to its normal position ahead of the latter to cover the latters viewing surface.

3. An indicia converting device comprising a pair of elongated flaps, each having an indicia carrying viewing surface at an end, means pivotally and spacedly mounting the flaps at their other ends, whereby the flaps may be swung between a' first position in which they extend towards each other with the free end of one overlapping the free end of the other and a second position rearwardly thereof where their ends clear each other, resilient means connected to each of them arranged to normally urge them to their overlapping position, said resilient means 'being adapted to automatically return the overlapped flap to a position ahead of the overlapping flap, when both are pivotally moved against the action of said resilient means, to thereby cover the viewing surface of said overlapping flap.

4. An indicia converting device comprising a pair of superimposed flat plates formed of a resilient material, each plate having at least one elongated aperture formed therein and resilient tongues at each aperture swingable from a normal co-planar position to a position rearwardly thereof, and each tongue having an indicia carrying viewing surface at its free end, said plates being reversely oriented and so positioned relative to each other that the tongues extend towards each other with a free end portion of one tongue overlapping and covering the viewing surface of the other, the overlapped tongue being adapted, when both are flexed out of their normal position to a position in which the free ends are clear of each other, to automatically return to said normal position ahead of the overlapping tongue and over the latters viewing surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 567,379 9/1896 Dalumi 40-28 812,354 2/1906 Murphy 40-61 1,082,155 12/1913 Herbst et al 40-5 1,679,520 8/ 1928 Giroux 4028 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. I. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN INDICIA CONVERTING DEVICE COMPRISING A PAIR OF ELONGATED FLAPS, EACH HAVING AN INDICIA CARRYING VIEWING SURFACE AT AN END, MEANS SPACEDLY AND RESILIENTLY MOUNTING THE FLAPS AT THEIR OTHER ENDS SO THAT THEY NORMALLY EXTEND TOWARDS EACH OTHER WITH THE FREE END OF ONE OVERLAPPING THE VIEWING SURFACE OF THE OTHER, SAID FLAPS BEING SWINGABLE IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THEIR VIEWING SURFACE TO PERMIT THE OVERLAPPED FLAPS TO CLEAR THE FREE END OF THE OVERLAPPING FLAPS AND AUTOMATICALLY RETURN TO ITS NORMAL POSITION AHEAD OF THE LATTER TO COVER THE LATTER''S VIEWING SURFACE. 